North Korea preparing missile launch this week: SK military
Staff Reporter 2013-04-22 15:51
Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, signs a log book during his meeting with his South Korean counterpart Jung Seung-jo, left. (Photo/DOD)
Kim Jong-un may order the Korean People's Army to launch scud missiles around Apr. 25 to celebrate North Korea's Armed Forces Day, an anonymous source within South Korea's defense ministry has told the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency.
A satellite image taken after Apr. 16 shows two scud missile launchers were deployed to South Hamgyong province on the eastern coast of North Korea. Another seven missile launchers were spotted in Kangwon province near the 38th Parallel. The order was given by Kim Jong-un on Mar. 26 to take aim at the United States and its allies. Artillery is still live, said another source with the military.
After April 15, the birthday of the country's founding father Kim Il-sung, passed quietly, South Korean authorities believe that a potential demonstration of military power could be waiting on Apr. 25, the country's Armed Forces Day. South Korean officials refused to confirm the accuracy of the information reported by Yonhap. The ministry of defense stated that nothing strange has been detected yet in North Korea.
Martin Dempsey, the chief of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Seoul on Apr. 21 to discuss the North Korean missile threat with Jung Seung-jo, his South Korean counterpart. After three hours in South Korea, Dempsey flew to China to seek greater cooperation from Beijing in maintaining stability on the Korean peninsula.
